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Katy Butler's new book, "Knocking on Heaven's Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death" tells about her mother's decision not to have risky heart valve surgery at age 84 and instead opt for palliative care. Butler said her mother "died the death she chose, not the death anyone else had in mind," so she told her story in hopes it will create a new "art of dying" for the biotech age.

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The rapid expansion of micro venture capitalists will continue for another year or so, predicts VC Paul Martino. But when the tech boom ends, they'll be hit by a harsh shakeout, he writes, adding that the micro VCs that haven't accumulated significant hits will "die a slow death."

The Institute of Medicine report "Dying in America" highlights the needs of patients with serious, chronic illness who are not ready or eligible for hospice and who would benefit from palliative care, writes Dr. Diane Meier, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care. The report calls for universal palliative care training for health care professionals and insurance coverage to meet the social and medical needs of the sickest patients.

The Institute of Medicine's "Dying in America" study said the U.S. should improve care for patients at the end of life, which could lower health care costs. The IOM report called for increased training in palliative care, payment for counseling patients, and changes for a system geared toward expensive care at the end of life for patients who want home care and pain management. IOM President Dr. Victor Dzau said patients are not dying the way they prefer and it is time for the U.S. to develop a "modernized end-of-life care system."

Social media are changing how patients and the public view and talk about death and dying, as evidenced by the number of people following NPR reporter Scott Simon as he chronicled his mother's final days from her ICU room. "Even before we had social media, we were beginning to see the story lines of 'I have cancer and this is what it's like to go through the treatments,'" said palliative and hospice expert Dr. Christian Sinclair. "Social media encourages a lot more of that."

Social gaming's demographic is 55% women, averaging 48 years old, PopCap Games says. That makes the space more attractive to cause-marketers, who are following pioneering games with a charity button such as Reebok's "Darfur is Dying" with integrations in games from Zynga on Facebook.